~ An Aussie look at Financial markets-Been in the Biz for over 30 years!

Wednesday 8th June-Australian Market Wrap

ASX down 1 to 5370 as market recovers on China data. Mixed performances across the board in quiet trade. Asian markets mixed, China down 0.28% and Japan up 0.8%.AUD rallies to 74.45 cents after data. US futures down 4.

Another subdued day today with a small loss on the headline as banks continued to be pressured as were big miners. Lunchtime numbers helped the market erase a drop of 35 points and got us into positive territory briefly before some selling came back in especially in the big miners.

The Chinese numbers showed their economy had stabilised. Nothing more. Nothing less. The AUD nudged higher on the numbers but barely.

Stocks and Sector Highlights:

Qantas (QAN)+3.75% better on broker calls for a capital return and continued share buyback. Estia Health (EHE)-4.84% continue to suffer as the shorters plaything and broker downgrades. The others in the Aged care sector seem to be escaping the wrath at the moment. Both Regis Healthcare (REG) unchanged and Japara Health (JHC)-0.39% were barely changed in contrast.

Profit taking continues in gold stocks as the AUD rises and bullion falls.

Coal has quietly rallied from its September lows and dragged equities with it. Whitehaven Coal (WHC) +5.32% but no movement from New Hope Coal (NHC)-0.34%.

LNG+25% and has now doubled nearly in the last week and is due to resent an Investor update in New York in the next day or so.

Airexpanders (AXP)-4.49% following a private placement tor aise $20.

Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ)-0.52% launched a landmark US dollar hybrid deal and attracted an extraordinary US$18 billion ($24 billion) of demand for only $1bn of ‘additional tier one capital’ at very tight spreads in the book-build from global investors overnight. This high yield bond was the first for a decade.

BHP +1.21% has agreed to sell its majority stake in the IndoMet coal project in Indonesia to its local joint venture partner Adaro Energy for $161m million being a 75% stake.

Woodside (WPL) +0.95% CEO Coleman is keeping an eye on the Oil Search (OSH) +2.5% bid for InterOil and has not ruled out M&A activity with a cap on cash component of under $1bn.

Economic News

Loans to property investors fell 5 % in April, breaking a six-month upward trend. The monthly total of new investor loans was just under $11.3 billion, the latest ABS data showed today.

Refinancing commitments for owner occupied housing (trend) rose 0.3% in April 2016, following a rise of 0.5% in March 2016. The seasonally adjusted series rose 2.8% in April 2016, following a rise of 0.8% in March 2016.

The value of outstanding housing loans financed by Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) was $1,490b, up $8b (0.5%) from the March 2016 closing balance.

CoreLogic data showed that Sydney rent increased 0.9 % over the year, but fell 0.3 % last month, while Melbourne rents were 2.3 % higher annually, and up 0.8 % in May.

In Asia

China’s May export numbers fell by a more-than-expected 4.1 %from a year earlier, while imports slipped by 0.4 %, the smallest drop since late 2014.

They also announced a trade surplus of $US49.98 billion for the month.

It is nearly official Trump v Clinton as Hillary declares her nomination as the first woman to be the official nomination for President.

Three countries with similar problems. New Zealand– Housing up 12.6% to May. Canada now looking to tax empty houses in Vancouver and Australia as Housing continues to confound the bears.

Brexit Countdown continues. Seems it is not just Britain that is losing patience with the EU experiment. France is now even more against the EU than Britain with 61% of French voters now having an unfavourable view of Europe. And that is before Euro 2016 starts.